Paolo Duterte now considers running for Speaker

Presidential son and Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte on Tuesday said he is considering joining the already tight speakership race at the House of Representatives.

In a statement, Paolo said he previously had no interest in vying for the position, but he changed his mind following talks of term sharing being "obsessively pushed" by Taguig City Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano.

"Moapil na ko pagka-speaker (I will run for Speaker),” Paolo said.

“The house is divided, I might be able to help unite it. Pareho lang kaming binoto ng mga tao ah. Kung term sharing, term sharing na kaming lahat,” he added.

Cayetano has been claiming that there was an agreement between him and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco to share the speakership position in the 18th Congress, a set up which he said has the blessing of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Velasco, however, has denied that there was such a deal, adding that a term scheme is also not the will of the majority of congressmen.

Paolo, in response to this issue, proposed that the speakership be shared among representatives from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and the party-list groups.

“I will ask the Visayas bloc to elect their speaker for their term share, and so with the Mindanao bloc and the party-list coalition,” he said.

“We are not talking about two persons here. We are talking about our beloved country. It is not about speakership alone, but who is the right person to unite Congress and I hope those running for the speakership stop influencing the Cabinet,” he added.

Cayetano has yet to respond to a request for comment from the media regarding Paolo's statement.

Apart from him and Velasco, three other lawmakers have expressed interest in holding the speakership, namely Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, Davao Del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, Pampanga Rep. Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales, and Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate.

House members will elect the next speaker during the opening of the session of the 18th Congress on the morning of July 22, the same day that Duterte is set to deliver his fourth State of the Nation Address.

Paolo's statement came more than a month after his father, President Duterte, threatened to resign if his son runs for Speaker. — MDM, GMA News